Fall of Giants: Week of 9/29/14

Pages Read: 0-52

     So far "Fall of Giants" is an okay book. I starting reading this because my mom was talking about it. I remember her saying that the book is confusing if you put the book down and pick back up in a day or two. I have to be honest, and trust me I hope she doesn't read this and get an idea, but she was, for once, right. I put the book down for a day or two and forgot practically everything. I had to start over so I knew what was going on. This book is part of a trilogy, so I plan on reading the rest of them when I'm done.

     Ken Follett is a great author. He really knows how to be descriptive and tie the reader into the story. I started to notice more of the writing techniques as I got further into the book. For example, the style of his writing is spot on. The story takes place around 1914 and Follett has the characters sound like they are from the time period. He uses both dialogue and narration to tell the story. I believe that he uses exactly the right amount of each. This makes the story easier to follow and comprehend.

     Another writing technique I noticed while reading was the tone. The tone at the very beginning of the story was impatient, but in the best way possible. The main character, Billy, could not contain his excitement, while getting ready to go to his first day of work. Once he starts talking to his sister, the tone changes to respect. Billy loves his sister and looks up to her. Once Billy gets to his job, the tones changes to obsequious. Billy and his friend are taken to the boss, where both are extremely polite, trying to make a good first impression.

Vlog on Banned Books

If I Stay: Week of 9/15/14

Pages Read: 75 - 150

     The point of view of “If I Stay” is 1st person. I think that this fits the story because Mia is telling the story with flashbacks of her pasts and what she is seeing. I feel like if it was in a different point of view it would be weird to read. I enjoy how Mia explains what she sees, including what she thinks how other people are feeling. The story is also told in flashbacks, personally I’m not a huge fan of this, but it fits the story. Having Mia tell her life story while unconscious helps the reader decided what she should do, stay or go. It also builds up the tension between Mia making the decision herself.

     The vocabulary the author uses is great for the type of book. The words aren't hard to understand, but they aren't easy. Since the author writes from the point of view of a 16 year old girl, she uses teenage language. When I say teenage language, I mean she write the book, based on how a teenage girl would think. I enjoy the vocabulary in the book for many reasons. I'll be honest, I don't like books that use a bunch of "big" words that I don't know. A few is okay, but when there is one for every page or two I get annoyed. "If I Stay" is the type of book where there are only a few "big" words every 100 pages.

     "If I Stay" uses only some dialogue, which makes sense. The book only uses dialogue at the beginning of the book, before the crash, and in flashbacks. Occasionally there will be dialogue when Mia is explaining what is happening in the hospital. I think that the author put in the right amount of dialogue. The dialogue is taking away from the narration, which I found is the best part of the book. I don't really like books that have the dialogue tell the story. "If I Stay" would have to be a perfect book for me.

If I Stay: Week of 9/8/14

Pages Read: 0 - 75

     I never knew what “If I Stay” was until I saw the commercial for the movie. I thought to myself, “This seems like a great movie, I’ll watch it someday.” Then it said based on the novel, and I decided to actually read the book before I watch the movie. So far, it’s paying off. The book is such a good book, I like all of the characters and the plot great too. It is easy to follow and comprehend, it may be a slightly easier book than I should be reading, but I think it’s okay. 

     I'm not that far in the book yet, but I can tell you several examples of imagery, but it lacks figurative language. For instance, on the first page, it's snowing out and the author makes sure to describe what is happening detail by detail. I enjoy how the author writes the story uses tons of imagery. She leaves nothing out, even if it is the tiniest detail ever. The author doesn't really use figurative language, but when you read the book, it's better without them, at I think so. Explaining page on a newspaper took a half of page, using such detail. Sometimes people can explain it to much or too little, but the author's use of imagery is just right.

     I honestly am not sure if the movie is going to be as good as the book. In the book, there are detailed flash backs and I’m not sure how they’ll exactly portray that, they might leave it out though. The book is filled with imagery so the movie should be easy to make. I can wait to finish the book and imagining all of the imagery in my head, then watching the movie and see how my thoughts were different. I also can’t wait to finished watching the movie and complain about how my ideas were better.

Top 10 Reading List

1 - "The Fifth Wave" by Rick Yancey

This book opened me up to a new theme, aliens.  "The Fifth Wave" had many different genres that fit into the main one. The main one was sci-fi, but there was romance and action. After I read this book over the summer, I think that I'll start to read sic-fi books this year. While I was reading this book, I felt a tear in my heart when a character died.

2 - "Crank" Series by Ellen Hopkins

I read the first book into the series because I needed a new book to read. Once I started to read it, I got hooked onto the book. When I found out that there was a squeal, I knew I had to read it. I enjoyed the series so much I read more of Ellen Hopkin's books. All of her books that I read, were mainly about the same thing. I learned what not to do as I grow up.

3 - "Love That Dog" by Sharon Creech

This book was one of my favorites that made my cry. I enjoyed this book because it was telling a story through a conversation, in a way. I like how the author wrote it for a kid's point of view, wondering why he has to write what he is writing. Having a yellow lab myself, it was hard to read. If that happened to my dog, I'm not sure what I would have done. Some might say that, I love that dog.

4 - "Wild Life" by Cynthia CeFelice

This book taught me to do what I believe in, even if it doesn't make other people happy. I really liked this book because a boy finds a dog, instantly becoming friends. This connected to me because I connected to my dogs as fast. As the story progressed, I felt like it was more about the bond of the dog, than the adventure. I have read this multiply times and loved it more each time.

5 - "Duke" by Kirby Larson

This book takes place during World War 2. This kid love his dad and his dog, so he has to make a decision of a life time. My grandfather fought in this war and it made me think, would I sacrifice my dog for him, for my country. I'm not sure, I don't think I could chose between them. This book taught me about courage and how it pays off.

6 - "Tale Dark and Grimm" Series by Adam Gidwitz

I read the first book in sixth grade and I couldn't stop reading it. It had a scary, yet satisfying mood. I read the second and third book in seventh grade. They took a day to read each. The most awful thing was that I had to wait months to read each book. I learned that kids can do practically anything that they put their minds to.

7 - "Dark Souls" by Paula Morris

I read this book because it had a ghost on the cover, when I started to read it, it turned out there was way more to it. In the beginning of the book there was a character named Jenna. I was excited to read what happens to her, but she only lasted five pages, when she died in a car crash. I learned from this book to have some trust in people you met, but not to much.

8 - "White Fang" by Jack London

This book taught me to love my dog and to not think it doesn't understand. I learned for the point of view of White Fang that you have to stand up for yourself. White Fang stands up for himself against bullies that don't like him because he is different. I liked this book because it's about the bond of an owner and dog.

9 - "The Giver" by Lois Lowry

This book was an interesting read. At first, I found it boring, but halfway through the book I started to enjoy it. I think this book taught me to try different books and see what I think because I would of stopped reading it. I enjoyed this book because once Jonas found out the truth, he wanted to escape from the lies.

10 - "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio

I learned a lot from this book. One was don't judge people on how they look, they could be a really sweet person. Another is don't let people judge you. August did at first, but then he made some friends and got over what people were saying about him. I liked this book because it was realistic. I would suggest that everyone should read this book.

"The Fifth Wave" Make-up Blog

I think that the title, "The Fifth Wave", fits the story. I first I didn't think this because there was no mention of a fifth wave. First there was a mention of the first, second, third, and fourth wave. I think out of the four waves the worst is the second wave. The second, wave was when the aliens killed a bunch of people by using the power of natural disasters like tornados and hurricanes. Since people are already have some caution over these things, it probably scared a bunch of people when everything hit them at once. Not to mention all the deaths.

The fifth wave is by far the worst wave though. Having humans turn against each other without knowing is dead wrong. I have to say, it was a good tactic on the aliens part. The one thing that the aliens forgot to corporate with their plan it the power of love and kindness. This is the one thing someone can't beat out of a person. Plus, it grows stronger and stronger as the aliens take away other loved ones and leave just the one.

My least favorite character is Evan. Evan is an alien hunting Cassie. He has been hunting Cassie since she has left Camp Ashpit. Of course, she doesn't know this. I don't like him because he betrayed   his own kind. Sure, that means one less killer alien on the planet, but I wouldn't trust him. My favorite character is Sammy, Cassie's little brother. He at the age where he starts to be slightly independent and the invasion is getting in the way of it. As soon as Ben leaves him, Sammy becomes way more independent than he needs to be.

"Glass" Make-up Blog **SPOILER ALERT**

I believe that the characters are realistic because it seems like someone really would do what Kristina would do. To me, a bunch of people make poor decisions like doing drugs and "falling in love". I honestly can't believe that Kristina made the same bad choices twice. Hopefully, she fixes some of her mistakes because having two children and doing drugs, won't work out. I feel that having the characters be realistic makes the story not only more believable, but more entertaining. I'm not sure if this is based off a true story, but I couldn't honestly see that it would be.

There are a few characters that you should get to know. First there is Kristina, she the main character in the book. She is the character that allows the story to go on. Then there is Bree. She's not really in this book, but still plays a major role. Bree is Kristina's dark side. She is the one who started all of the bad decisions. She is another reason why the story continues. With out her, the first book would have been ten pages long and there would have never been a second book. Once Kristina saw Adam, Bree came out of the closet.

There is also Kristina's deadbeat dad. He helped the story start to. Kristina wanted to see him, but he lives in California. Kristina went out there one summer and fell in love, while she was in love she did drugs. I somewhat blame her dad for this because he encouraged her to start them. There is also Kristina's mom. Her mom tried to make Kristina nothing like her father, but Kristina's curious got in the way. Her baby, Hunter, plays a little part in the story. I think that Hunter is the reason Kristina is having another baby. Not that he did anything wrong, but Kristina grew apart and wanted someone else to love.